Ryou's First Kiss
by Cloud-1-3-5 and Ame Emi Dai
Summary: A brief tale of Ryou's first kiss from the last person he'd expect! Lots of fluff, R x A, R x B, shounenai complete
1. First Kiss

Hello again everyone! ^_^ I'm back (what a surprise) and with another ficcie in the works! This time it's another dangerously fluffy offering, featuring Ryou x Bakura! (Let's face it, it was only a matter of time, ne?)  
This is an adapted version of a fic I wrote a few months back and decided would never see the light of day again. It's a light-hearted humour, with a bit of romance thrown in!  
  
This is a Shounen-ai fic - no like, no read! *points to door* Simple, ne? Those of you who're still here... enjoy!!!  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
It was another oppressively hot day in Domino City, and Bakura lay slouched on the sofa in the front room, tired, sweaty and bored out of his face. Even dancing naked in the garden hadn't provided the usual relief, instead just serving to make him hotter than ever. He couldn't even go and taunt Ryou about his new love, since he'd shut himself in his room. In fact, he'd been there for a few hours now.  
  
Cursing the Ra-forsaken heat, Bakura peeled himself off the leather couch and slowly sat up, ignoring the headache that always comes when you spend too long lying down. It wasn't like a headache was an unfamiliar sensation to him, after all – he'd lost count of the amount of times he'd injured himself charging at the Pharaoh with a saucepan on top of his head.  
  
'Why *has* Ryou been up there so long?' Bakura pondered, slowly making his way to the front room door. 'If he's got that Anzu girl up there with him…'  
  
That thought alone was enough to make Bakura pick up his pace a little. He had nothing against Anzu per say… she just really didn't seem to be quite as interested in Ryou as he did in her. It was almost like she didn't actually care for him. And he was technically supposed to look after his hikari, however pathetic he may be.  
  
Bakura made sure to make lots of noise as he climbed the stairs, giving the two a little advance warning of his arrival. The one thing he didn't want to see was Ryou and Anzu up to something! Coming to a stop by Ryou's room, Bakura rapped his knuckles against the wooden door, listening hard for any response from within. When none came, Bakura tried the handle and – much to his surprise – found the door was unlocked. Pushing it open, bracing himself for the worst, he walked in.  
  
The sight that greeted him really wasn't what he'd expected. Ryou was sat on his bed alone, with his face buried in his pillows. When Bakura cleared his throat to announce his arrival, Ryou looked up, and Bakura was surprised to see that Ryou's eyes were red and his cheeks were blotchy and tear-stained. Bakura raised his eyebrows enquiringly, and Ryou's lower lip began to tremble. "She… she dumped me…" was all Ryou could manage before his face crumpled up, and he buried it in his pillows once more, fresh sobs racking his body.  
  
At the very last moment, Bakura realised how inappropriate an audible sigh of relief would have been, and instead sat next to Ryou, feeling slightly awkward. He gently eased Ryou up from the pillow and, after a moment's hesitation, loosely draped an arm round his shoulders. "Want to talk about it?"  
  
Ryou sniffled a little, then nodded slightly. He wiped a tear away from his eye, and turned to face Bakura. "Well… we were… were in Duh-Duh-Domino City park, a-and w-we were…" As Ryou began to remember it, his face crumpled again. Latching his arms round Bakura, Ryou buried his face in his yami's chest, seeking comfort and solace. This action caught Bakura completely off guard, and for a second or two he simply stared dumbly at his hikari, who was now in full-blown tears. Gradually it dawned on him that he was supposed to do *something*, and he slowly put his arms round Ryou, noticing a faint warm feeling as he did so. He put it down as pride that his hikari was turning to him in his moment of need, and pushed it to one side, instead focussing on more important matters – like how to stop his hikari's pathetic bawling.  
  
Bakura gently rubbed Ryou's back and whispered encouragingly in his ear, until Ryou's tears had faded to sniffles again. "So come on… what happened?" Bakura didn't personally care, to be honest. He'd heard that talking often helped – and if it meant Ryou would stop making such a racket he was ready to go for it.  
  
Ryou looked gratefully up at his yami, a small smile flicking across his face, before continuing his story. "Well… we were walking through the park, and I noticed Anzu seemed really distant, so I asked if anything was wrong." Ryou stared dolefully down at the floor for a moment, composing himself before continuing. "'Ryou, we need to talk' she replied."  
  
Bakura rolled his eyes at this. "And we all know where that goes," he stated.  
  
Ryou either didn't notice Bakura's comment or chose to ignore it. "Well, w-we sat down at a nearby bench, and she told me–"  
  
Bakura cut him off. "Let me guess… sweet guy, really cute, not your fault, let's stay friends, yadda yadda yadda?" Ryou blinked at Bakura with tear-filled eyes in surprise. "How… how on earth did *you* know that?"  
  
Bakura stared down at the floor, slightly confused. How had he known? He hadn't spoken to Anzu about it – obviously – and it wasn't like he'd ever had a girlfriend to dump him before… not that he'd ever tell ANYONE that. He guessed he'd just seen one too many of his hikari's soap operas.  
  
"You know…" Ryou sighed. "I really thought she was special… that it would last. I even thought that she might be 'the one' for a little while. But… in all that time we went out…" Ryou's lower lip began to tremble again, and he again buried his face in Bakura's chest. It was only at that point that Bakura realised that, the whole time, the two boys hadn't let go of eachother. They had both just sat in eachother's arms. And he, the almighty tombrobber, hadn't protested – or even cared.  
  
Ryou sniffled from Bakura's chest. "All that time… and we didn't even kiss…"  
  
Bakura was so surprised by this statement that he nearly pulled out of the hug. Nearly. Instead, he stared at Ryou incredulously. "THAT'S what all the waterworks are about???"  
  
Ryou fixed his teary gaze onto Bakura, his eyes as close to angry as they had ever gotten – which, Bakura noted, still wasn't very close. He took one arm from around Bakura's torso to wipe his eyes, and Bakura couldn't help but notice he put it back again. And, once again, the tombrobber didn't complain – instead, that warm feeling he'd felt earlier chose to reappear. "Bakura, I've NEVER been kissed! You hear that? Never! I'm always the cute, sweet helpful guy, never the guy the girls dream about! I'm good ol' Ryou, you can always talk to him 'cause he's never out on a date! I'm always the guy in the corner with the cute smile, never the stud out on the dancefloor!"  
  
Bakura sat as Ryou kept babbling, his litany of self-pity falling on half-deaf ears. 'Gods,' Bakura thought, mentally rolling his eyes. 'Doesn't he ever shut up?'  
  
In due course, Ryou ran out of metaphors, and instead settled for pouting and whining, "It's so unfair!" Eventually, Bakura reached his limit – there was only so much a short-tempered yami could take before they had enough. "Ryou," he growled. Ryou paused in his epic monologue of self-pity and looked up. "Hai?"  
  
Bakura looked him dead in the eyes, a small snarl playing across his lips. "Shut up," he stated simply, before leaning forward and crushing his lips against Ryou's.  
  
Bakura had only meant to kiss Ryou so that he couldn't complain about it any more. But, for some odd reason, he didn't want to break it. 'I can't like this!' Bakura thought furiously, pressing harder against Ryou as his only means of venting his annoyance. 'This is my hikari! He's weak! He's feeble! He's…" Bakura felt Ryou moan slightly, parting his lips as he did so, and suddenly realised his own tongue was making its way in to meet Ryou's. 'He's… such a good kisser…' Bakura's tongue attacked more fiercely as his frustration grew, eliciting a small groan of pleasure from the gentler of the two boys. 'NO! He can't be! He's my hikari!'  
  
Through a massive force of willpower, Bakura was able to break himself away, panting slightly as he felt the tingling slowly leave his lips. He stared down at his lap, and noticed he had somehow moved closer to Ryou… or the other way around. He looked at the other boy, who was also staring at his own lap, apparently as shocked as Bakura was. Feeling his yami's gaze, Ryou slowly looked up to face him, a definite red shade tingeing his cheeks. As their eyes met, Ryou giggled nervously for half a second and turned a slightly deeper tone of crimson. Though he wasn't going to tell Bakura – gods knew what Bakura'd do if Ryou did tell him! – Ryou had actually somewhat enjoyed that kiss. The only thing that pulled him back was that it had only been out of pity – it hadn't been a real kiss, with the same feeling. Well… not on Bakura's part, at any rate. "Th… thankyou, Bakura," he managed to stammer, still half-stunned.  
  
Bakura didn't reply, instead staring into Ryou's eyes. He could see Ryou wanted more – it was almost painfully obvious. For some reason, Bakura wanted more too. He could feel himself trembling slightly in anticipation, and decided to throw caution to the wind. Slipping a hand through Ryou's hair, pulling him closer, Bakura kissed Ryou again, more delicately than before. This time, it was a slow, lingering kiss, a kiss that *really* let him feel the tingling that ran so deliciously through him everywhere their skin touched, the tingling and shivers of excitement as he experienced Ryou's unique flavour once more. He gently traced the outline of Ryou's lips with his tongue, marvelling at their combined softness and strength, before his hikari readily parted the entrance to his mouth once more, his tongue coming out to invite Bakura's in. This time it was Bakura's turn to give a low moan as he explored Ryou's delicate cavern, the vibrations running through Ryou's body delightfully as he placed a gentle hand on his yami's cheek. Slowly, Bakura pulled away, just far enough that their lips were no longer touching, but that he could still feel the heat from Ryou's on his own. Bakura let out a slow, longing breath, earning a sigh from Ryou, before he pulled away completely.  
  
"Bakura…" Ryou breathed softly, his eyes still slightly glazed as the euphoria slowly faded away.  
  
Bakura simply grinned widely. "Now," he began, doing all he could to keep his hands to himself. "If you're quite done whining… there's a stack of dirty plates downstairs that needs washing."  
  
Standing up, Bakura strode purposefully out of the room. Once round the door, he allowed himself a mischievous grin. 'And that could be an opportunity for fun if ever there was…'  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Sat on the bed, left breathless from his recent experience, Ryou slowly climbed to his feet, following Bakura out of the room. Why had Bakura kissed him again? He wasn't complaining, but… he was certainly confused. *Had* Bakura enjoyed that too?  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Well... that was originally intended to be a one-shot, but somehow I think that absolutely smacks of a need to be continued. What do you guys think?  
*grins widely* Eeee... jus love that fluff!!! Please review and let me know if you think it needs more! 


	2. Slowly moving on

Hewwo again readers! Well, it's been a while, ne? I'll warn you now, since I intended this to be a one-shot is isn't high on my updates priority list... will just happen now and then. Add me to author alerts to get an email when I do this or anything else ^_^

Reviews!

To Hijiri Hitokiri Battousai: Heh ^_^' Here ya go man  
To shadowspecter: Hai, it probably will... but I'm doing my best ^_^' I couldn't resist, they're my fave pair!  
To Tasan15: Hai, kawaii desu ^_^ Here's more!  
To ObiWanGirl: I like that picture too ^_^ here's a NEW bit for ya! XD  
To Theinklesspen: *giggles* You like it too hey? Here's more!  
To 'yuu': Ya, eeded continuing and is!  
To Carmen5-Nemrac: Yeah... well, here ya go ^_^  
To Midiholden: *grins* You like this fluff? *sniggers and points to the Forbidden Love series* They're lovely fluffly ^_^ Glad ya like though, here's more!  
To DreamingChild: Oh yeah, defo more kissies ^_^  
To 'yamisilver': Here's more!  
To 'Anime Crazed': Yeah, got a couple of ideas to use... so here ya go!  
To Darkwolf193: Yes, OLB needs updating, desperately... as soon as I find my notes I'll get my head into gear... -_- Till then, here's a bit of this!  
To shade25: Alright, you win ^_^  
To rebelphoenix: More Tea bashing... I dunno, I dun mind her... and jamakke-chan'd kill me... Maybe Bakura can have a say later...  
To Dragon Moonshine: Here ya go ^_^  
To silver-fox20: Hey, you're a regular now, aintcha? *huggles* How could I refuse you? ^_^  
To 'Sailor Comet': Yeah, that was a bit of a teaser... So here we go ^_^  
To DruidessQueen: Here's more for you too, ye of long reviewingness ^_^  
To Kiawna: Jus about everyone else does ^_^  
To bakura321: *huggles plushie* Here's more... keep your Yami happy, ne?  
To 'vampirexXx': I wuv this pairing too! And thanx for the kind words ^_^  
To DemonLady1: ...well, you've had the shortest wait... ^_^'

So here we go with chapter two, courtesy of peer pressure! Special thanks to Koori No Kokoro for doing the beta job for me! ^_^

*~*~*~*~*~*

A wide grin played about Bakura's face as he made his way down the stairs, licking his lips softly. That had certainly been… refreshing. Though in hindsight, he supposed, he should have seen that Ryou felt that way a long time ago…

*~*~*Flashback*~*~*

Bakura had Ryou's wrist grasped firmly as he shoved the rake into his hand. "And I want every one of those leaves bagged up, you hear me? That garden's a bomb site!"

To be fair, it was Bakura's fault that the garden was such a mess. Piles of ashes from bonfires – each one a testament of him having done something he shouldn't have – littered the garden, each blackened pile standing out starkly against the lush green lawn that Ryou tried so hard to maintain. Bent metal poles and broken planks of wood were all over the place, a result of Bakura's 'weapons training' against the solitary tree that stood in the garden – a tree that admittedly looked the worse for wear nowadays. Clothes that were so dirty that even Ryou didn't dare wash them sat in a pile in one corner, and were starting to show signs of growth – Bakura had been told to get rid of them, and he had. The list went on, the garden an ever vying battle between Ryou's quest for a pleasant atmosphere and Bakura's disregard for his hikari's efforts, seeing the garden as an open space provided solely for his convenience.

Later on, Ryou came in, announcing that the task was almost completed. Watching Ryou grab a mass of black bin bags, Bakura followed him back outside and stood at a moderate distance, watching as his hikari shook one of the bags open.

"Ryou."

As Ryou had turned round to see what Bakura wanted, an enquiring look on his face, he'd noticed a streak of white hair dangerously close to him and moving rapidly. Barely managing a shriek of surprise, Ryou was tackled by Bakura, being dumped into the pile of leaves he'd just swept up. Squealing in protest, Ryou fought vainly as Bakura began stuffing leaves down his top, rubbing them through his soft white hair and rolling him round in them. Sat across Ryou's stomach, pinning him down, Bakura pointed to a sole leaf about six feet away. "You missed a bit."

With that, Bakura jumped up, walking in.

*~*~*End Flashback*~*~*

Bakura's grin stay fixed as he recalled that event. Now, in hindsight, he saw the look in his hikari's eyes as Bakura had been torturing him. Ryou had enjoyed that, immensely. Not just in the playful way either. Chuckling softly, Bakura stepped through into their living room, which was adjoined to the kitchen, and sat on their black leather couch, contemplating how he could torture his hikari and have the most fun while he was at it.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Ryou stepped out of his bedroom door, his head spinning. That had certainly been a kiss to remember, and was the best cure for the break-up he could think of. Well…

Ryou began blushing as he thought of what might have been a better cure, quickly dismissing such thoughts from his mind. Now was definitely not the time to be thinking about things like that! Beginning softly down the stairs, Ryou tried to get his head back on track, focussing on the dishes he was going to wash. Boring, tedious… but it kept Bakura happy, which made Ryou happy. Besides, he enjoyed singing as he did it – although he knew he would never be a pop star, Ryou didn't think he had too bad a voice, and certainly liked using it. Humming softly, he walked in through the living room door, avoiding looking at Bakura, and made his way to the kitchen. Looking at Bakura wouldn't have helped his already weak resolve much – but was it really his fault that his yami was so damn hot? The tight jeans he wore didn't help Ryou much either – some pairs fitted like a second skin! Which, Ryou had noted, was the case today. No, just get on with the dishes, and survive. That was far safer. Ryou inwardly shivered as he thought of what Bakura might do if he ever found out his hikari had a crush the size of Jupiter on him.

Pouring some washing-up liquid into the bowl, Ryou turned the taps on, humming a little louder and beginning to bop lightly to an imaginary beat, stepping round the kitchen in time to the music in his head. By the time he'd gathered everything up – Bakura's kitchen cleanliness rivalled his gardening ability – the water was ready, and Ryou turned the taps off, a delicious warm sensation shivering through him as he rolled his sleeves up and plunged his hands into the suds. Dropping a few plates into the water, Ryou began washing, singing 'River of Dreams' by Billy Joel as his opening song, envisioning himself up on stage with thousands of fans cheering him on as he did so.

"_In the middle of the night  
I go walking in my sleep  
Through the valley of faith  
To the river so_ DEE!"

Ryou had meant to sing 'deep', but instead shrieked in surprise as he felt something warm press up against his back, sloshing the dishwater everywhere as he jumped.

"Dear dear me…" Bakura's voice came over his shoulder as Ryou felt a pair of arms snake round his waist. "Looks like you've got your sweater all wet…"

Ryou looked down, yelping as he felt Bakura's hands take hold of the bottom of the sweater and begin lifting it up. The yelp was more in surprise than anything else, but he certainly didn't want to let on that he wanted Bakura to do things like that! Ryou tried to grab at Bakura's hands and pull them away, but Bakura slapped him away every time his hands came too near, tactfully pressing more firmly against Ryou as he did so. "We can't have you in wet clothes… you might catch cold…"

Ryou bit his lip as he spotted an innuendo in Bakura's words, trying not to respond in any way. With a small sigh of defeat, Ryou allowed Bakura to remove his top, dutifully lifting his arms as the top came closer to his head.

"Your trousers are wet too…"

Ryou's eyes widened at this, and he spoke hastily. "No, that's okay, I'll change them later, really…" he pleaded, praying to anyone listening that Bakura wouldn't go too near anywhere below his hips. That would have given his feelings for Bakura away.

His arms back round Ryou's hips, Bakura shrugged. "Suit yourself," he replied.

Ryou stood still for a few seconds before venturing to say anything. He swallowed as quietly as he could, his mouth dry, and asked, "…are you going to stay there?"

"Mm hm."

"Oh… okay… I just wanted to make sure I knew what was happening…" Ryou tried to continue with the washing, but found it increasingly difficult as his yami gradually held him tighter and tighter, pressing his body fully up against Ryou's back, limiting his movement. He was also finding it harder and harder to concentrate.

"Bakura…" Ryou whimpered, not trusting his voice to stay steady. "Could you please let go…? I need to get on with this…" Ryou felt Bakura's head shake side to side in response, and continued. "Bakura, it's… hard, with you standing there…"

"What's hard?"

This time, Ryou squealed at the insinuation, blushing furiously, and spun round, Bakura expertly stepping out the way of any attack Ryou might launch. "Bakura!" Ryou gasped, the shock still all over his face. He began following after his yami, meaning to somehow make him stop dropping innuendoes all over the place. He was having a hard enough time keeping his mind off Bakura without them!

Unfortunately, Ryou forgot about the washing-up water he'd spilt across the floor earlier, and felt his smooth-soled trainers slipping on the linoleum as he began to move. A look of shock and horror on his face, Ryou began to fall forward, his arms flailing wildly…

And landed straight in Bakura's arms. Bakura instinctively pulled his hikari in closer, making sure he'd be able to stand properly when he let go, and hoisted him up a little, pulling him more upright.

Ryou looked up at Bakura almost fearfully, his doe-brown eyes wide as he regarded his yami, awaiting his reaction. Gods, he felt good right now… being in Bakura's arms felt so right, so natural… but he was afraid of what might happen next. He instinctively shrunk down a little lower, and found his head almost on Bakura's chest, which didn't help his situation in the slightest.

Bakura regarded his trembling hikari through soft eyes, though he carefully kept them neutral so as not to give away what he was thinking. As he felt Ryou's chocolate-brown orbs gaze into his own, both melting into each other, he felt his heart rate pick up a notch, and suddenly wanted to pull Ryou closer. He unconsciously licked his lips, almost drooling at the sight of the pretty little boy before him, and swallowed.

Ryou felt his cheeks darkening as he watched his yami, partly from shyness and partly from desire, and his lips parted slightly, his teeth just brushing against his bottom lip. If he'd dared to, he would have whimpered, begging for Bakura there and then. As it was, he simply stood paralysed with fear, like a rabbit caught in headlights. He could feel one finger trying to move, trying to encourage the rest of his hand to follow, to reach up and stroke Bakura's cheek, to do something… but he was frozen, unable to move, save for his eyelids which had somehow half-lidded without him telling them to.

The longer Bakura held Ryou, the more desirable the boy seemed to be. His half-lidded eyes, the light tinge on his cheeks, the rise and fall of his chest, his soft, rosy lips that looked ready for kissing there and then… One of Bakura's hands finally moved, softly stroking Ryou's hair with the backs of his fingers. The boy in his arms gasped, his eyes widening again, and began trembling, his eyes pleading. But pleading for what…?

With a small growl, Bakura realised he wasn't going to get any clues. Better to just get it over with. Roughly hoisting his hikari back up to his full height, Bakura backed him up against one of the kitchen counters, both arms round him and bodies flush against each other as Bakura hungrily stole another kiss from Ryou, not bothering with being gentle this time. Bakura felt Ryou give a soft gasp, tensing up briefly before relaxing, and knew he'd made the right choice. Driving his hips into Ryou's, Bakura leaned the boy back slightly, prying Ryou's lips apart with his own and thrusting his tongue through before Ryou had a chance to complain.

Ryou gasped loudly again as he felt new levels of desire running through him, waves pulsing like he hadn't known were possible. Groaning as Bakura's hips drove into his, Ryou felt himself melting into his yami's arms, finally waking up enough to return the kiss, pressing his lips against Bakura's and slipping his tongue past the Tomb Robber's, stroking along his cheek and shuddering as the former thief moaned in satisfaction. There was no question this time as to whether Bakura was enjoying it; he was the one leading it, pressing for more as the kiss deepened, one hand sliding down Ryou's back and coming to rest on his rear, pulling the two boys even more tightly together as he kneaded, almost clawing at Ryou. Ryou gave another shaky gasp, melting as he arched back further, driving his hips and desire closer to Bakura, and moaned softly as he felt Bakura respond exactly as he'd wanted.

The two might have been there for the rest of the day if the doorbell hadn't rung at that moment. With a loud curse, Bakura broke away, glaring at the front window as if somehow it'd change time and they'd suddenly be back as they were, uninterrupted. With a soft giggle, his cheeks not as bright as Bakura had expected, Ryou distracted his deathly gaze and cupped his cheek softly.

"It's okay," he whispered with a smile. "I'll be back soon."

Bakura grabbed Ryou's wrist as he went past, and the white-haired boy turned to look at him. "Hikari," he murmured through a smirk. "Do you think I'm letting you go anywhere on your own?"

Somehow, Ryou was sure he wouldn't.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Wheee! Me likes! You likes? Review thank you please! XD 


	3. For real?

Unfortunately, I bear bad news, oh loyal readers... this is the last chapter of this story. I had only intended it to be a one-shot, and if it carries on too long, it'll lose it's cuteness that you only get from one-shots or Youth of the Nation by Nek0-chan.  
However, all is not gloom. This chapter is over 3000 words, specially as a big send-off, and now that this fic is finished... well, I'm free to focus on One Last Breath and Forever Dreaming, and once one of those is done I can begin revamping First Date - which means lots more Yami\Yugi fluff for you all, without any tragedy!  
I know that is scant consolation for Ryou\Bakura fans, but since they're one of my top pairings, you can bet there'll be plenty more to come! ^_^  
I would like to point out that I personally am not an Anzu-basher, for those who asked. It just suits this fic, and thus I play it to the best it needs. So, enjoy!

*~*~*~*~*~*

With Bakura's hand still firmly latched on to his wrist, Ryou made his way through the house, humming softly as the endorphins Bakura's attentions had released thrummed through his system. All thoughts of Anzu, of her dumping him, had been pushed from his mind. Right now, all that mattered was the lingering warmth Bakura had left against him, and the spicy taste on Ryou's tongue from Bakura's hot assaults. Almost floating, Ryou made his way through the house to the front door, not surprised when Bakura's arms quickly knotted round his waist as he stopped.

Ryou smiled as he opened the door, Bakura's chin on his shoulder. "Hi–"

Ryou had begun cheerfully, but his voice froze and his smile plummeted as soon as he saw the person on the other side. Much more quietly, Ryou began speaking again, his eyes dropping. "Hi Anzu…"

Sparkling blue eyes regarded the two boys with a puzzled look as Anzu took in the sight before her. "Uhm… hi Ryou…" she faltered, shuffling a little uncomfortably. "A-and Bakura… May I… come in for a second?"

Bakura opened his mouth to speak, but Ryou's soft voice cut him off. "Sure… come in…"

Bakura and Ryou both stepped aside for Anzu, allowing her through to the living room. As Ryou closed the front door, Bakura spoke in a low growl. "Why on earth did you do that?"

Saddened oaky eyes turned to Bakura. "I don't know…" he whispered. All those feelings of happiness had just been washed from him, and the old dejection was creeping back in. The pain he'd felt earlier had come back, knocking him reeling once again. He didn't know what to feel any more. It was like he'd just found out everything with Bakura had only been a daydream, and that all along he'd been sat in his bedroom still. He might as well have just come downstairs and opened the door. "Maybe she just wants to say sorry…" he added faintly as he moved past Bakura to where Anzu was.

"She could have done _that_ at the doorstep," Bakura muttered as he followed Ryou into the room, arms folded across his chest.

Anzu was sitting on the edge of the couch at the far end as the two boys entered. Ryou sat at the opposite end to Anzu, half-turned towards her, and Bakura leaned up against the doorframe, watching to see what was about to unfold. Anzu noted this, and softly spoke to Ryou. "Does _he_ have to be here…?"

A growl cut Ryou's reply off. "Yes, _he_ does," came the curt reply from the door. "I'm here to see he doesn't get hurt again," Bakura added.

Anzu carefully chose to ignore that snipe, instead returning her attention to the softer boy. "Look, Ryou, I know I hurt you, but… I've been thinking. Maybe I made a mistake. I shouldn't have let you down like that. I realise now that I still care for you, and…" Anzu placed one of her hands on the back of Ryou's, her eyes fixed appealingly on him. Ryou, however, didn't return the look, his unwavering gaze directed at the floor. "…I was wondering if you could give me a second chance. Give a second chance… to _us_?"

Bakura mentally snorted at this. He couldn't believe that witch had turned up again, after what she'd done to Ryou. After the way she'd broken his heart, there was no way in hell he'd even consider getting back with her. What a waste of time this was…

"I don't know…" Ryou whispered. Bakura's eyebrow visibly quirked up at this, though – with a huge effort – he managed to keep himself from saying anything. Ryou was actually contemplating it? "I do still care for you Anzu," Ryou whispered. "But… you hurt me. Badly."

"Oh, Ryou, my darling," Anzu cooed, shuffling a little closer to the boy and placing her free hand on his shoulder. "I know I hurt you, and I am so sorry for it." Flicking her hair back with a shake of her head, she leaned closer to Ryou in a bid to get him to make eye contact with her. "Please, if you just–"

"Anzu…" Ryou softly cut the girl off. "It's not just that. I…" Ryou softly chewed at his lower lip softly, deep thought and wondering evident in his chocolate-brown eyes. "I like someone else too… or at least, I think I do…"

Anzu looked curiously at Ryou. "Someone else?" Ryou nodded slowly, his eyes closing, and Anzu smiled reassuringly. "But Ryou, does she like you too?"

"_He_ does," came Bakura's voice, correcting Anzu as he pushed himself off the doorframe and stood in front of the two on the couch. "Quite a lot as it happens – _and_ he actually shows it."

Anzu's attention, which had been directed to Bakura as he spoke, returned to the boy sat beside her. "Ryou, you don't mean…"

She trailed off as she caught sight of where Ryou was looking. His gaze, with those beautiful, deep eyes, was aimed directly at Bakura, with deep wonder and… was it happiness in his eyes? Anzu couldn't tell for sure, but she was sure she'd seen that look before.

Slowly, Ryou's line of sight fell to the floor once again. "I don't know…" he whispered. "I don't know who I want to be with… I care for you both, and…"

"Rubbish," Bakura scorned. "Don't keep your emotions based on the past, Ryou. Don't think about what you had. Think about _now_." As the addressed looked up at him questioningly, Bakura smirked. "Come on, it should be simple. Whose arms do you want to be in right now?"

Ryou simply continued to stare.

"Whose eyes do you want to melt into whenever you look at them?"

Ryou faltered, still not sure. "I…"

"Think about it. When each of us kissed you, who made you feel the best?" Bakura hadn't forgotten that Ryou hadn't kissed Anzu, and was quite deliberately using this fact to his advantage. Devious, certainly. Conniving, most likely. Wrong… possibly. But all's fair in love and war, right? And right now, _both_ were happening.

Ryou, however, still couldn't choose. "Bakura, I know that all matters, but…"

The dark of the two growled in frustration, and roughly pushed Ryou back against the settee. Shoving Anzu's hands away from the boy, Bakura hopped onto the seat, landing so he was sat straddling Ryou's lap.

"Bakura, what are you–"

"Urusei."

Placing a hand either side of Ryou's head, Bakura thrust his lips up against Ryou's, forcefully stealing another kiss from the boy. Grinding his hips into Ryou's, Bakura thrust his tongue into his light's mouth as he moaned at the contact, meshing their lips together and swiftly moving across every contour in that hot, delicate cavern. Pressing flush against Ryou, Bakura held the kiss for a couple of seconds longer before breaking away, stopping to admire his handiwork.

Ryou was still slumped back against the couch, looking almost dazed as his mind tried to catch up with reality and work out exactly what had just happened. He slowly blinked back into focus, and looked questioningly at Bakura, who was still sat on his lap. "Bakura… what…?"

The boy simply gave a small chuckle in reply, pushing himself up and slipping off the couch out of Ryou's way. "Now kiss her," he ordered, gesturing to Anzu.

"What?"

"Kiss her."

Ryou turned to look at the girl sat beside him, still panting as he recovered from Bakura's surprise attack. He stared deep into her sparkling azure eyes, eyes that were full of questions and yearning for Ryou. His eyes roamed across her chestnut hair, delicately framing her pretty face and soft pink skin. His eyes drifted across her full chest, down her lithe dancer's frame, and across her smooth, slender legs. And slowly, he came to a decision.

"I can't…" he whispered, shaking his head softly. "It's not you Anzu, but… I can't." His eyes sparkled as he turned to face Bakura again, a wide grin breaking out across his face. He jumped to his feet and dived at Bakura, latching his arms around his chest and snuggling joyfully against him. "I want you," he whispered softly, nuzzling lightly against the taller's shoulder. "I want you, Bakura."

Anzu simply sat on the couch, her eyes wide, stunned. "Uh…?"

A smirk graced the victor's features. "Sorry Anzu," he leered. "I think he's made his choice. Now how about you get out?" Bakura kissed Ryou's forehead and smiled down at him, a glint in his eye. "I think we could use some time alone…"

Anzu slowly climbed off the couch to her feet, the look of shock on her face reminiscent of someone who'd just been slapped with a fish. "But… but that's…" she weakly stammered. "That's… not fair…" Anzu's hand suddenly fisted by her side, a scowl crossing her face, and she raised her voice as she began to vent her rejection at Bakura. "He was mine first! He loved me! How could you take him from me like that?" she demanded, tears of pain, anger and humiliation beginning to shimmer in her eyes. "How could you do this to us?"

Bakura chuckled deep in his throat at this outburst. "Me? How could _I_ do it?" His eyes suddenly narrowed, and for the first time in that conversation his voice actually became a threat in its own right. "I wasn't the one who dumped my hikari for no good reason, you selfish bitch. I wasn't the one who left him to come home alone, hurt and humiliated, and to sob his heart out alone in his room. _I_ wasn't the one who toyed with his feelings and completely ignored him!"

"You destroyed what we had!"

"No Anzu…" Ryou softly butted in, lifting his head from Bakura's chest. "You did. Bakura's right." The girl stood in a stunned silence, unable to believe that the pretty, gentle, sweet boy stood in Bakura's arms before her had just said that. "Please just go," he whispered, a bite creeping into his voice too.

Without another word, Anzu turned and walked out the door, closing it softly behind her.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Later that day, Bakura was standing by the oven, attempting to cook a simple meal for the two of them. Ryou was always the one who cooked the dinner usually, but – at Bakura's insistence – he was now sat in front of the TV with a nice hot drink by his side. Bakura had decided that, following the events through that day, Ryou was probably stressed out and in need of a bit of relaxation. Besides that, Bakura didn't want Ryou suddenly breaking down and burning himself while cooking… or ruining the dinner.

"Fucking thing," Bakura snarled in frustration as he whipped a wooden spoon through some exceptionally lumpy batter, trying to smoothen it out. "I don't know how that boy manages to do this every weekend without building some muscles… it must take him hours…" Pausing to wipe at a bead of perspiration with his sleeve, he resumed his constant beating.

"Actually, I use a whisk…"

Bakura glanced up from his creation and saw Ryou stood in the doorframe, a smile on his face as he rocked back on his heels innocently. "That is what it's made for…"

He fished one off the wall and walked across to Bakura, handing it to him with bright eyes sparkling. Bakura accepted the whisk with a small grunt of thanks, slightly irritated that Ryou had proved him wrong and that he wasn't watching TV like he'd been instructed. Shifting his weight to make the stirring easier, Bakura set about whisking the batter once again, trying to keep Ryou's presence out of his mind.

"Bakura…?"

'_Fuck_.'

Now for the question that Bakura had been hoping to avoid.

"What you said to Anzu earlier… about liking me… was that the truth?"

Bakura set the batter down on the table gingerly, turning so his back was to Ryou so that the boy couldn't see him biting his lip. Bakura had only meant to make Ryou feel better. That's what that first kiss had been all about. He'd enjoyed that, and had to have a second one… and he'd said that to keep Ryou from Anzu. He'd said it to protect the boy. How the hell do you tell someone that you only said something like _that_ to stop them making a mistake? His head hung slightly, Bakura's eyes closed slowly as he began to at least try. "Ryou…"

Bakura tensed up slightly as he felt a soft, comforting hand on his shoulder. The boy had guessed. Bakura could just _tell_ that he had, from the way the atmosphere in the room had changed. What had been a happy atmosphere – the place Ryou saw as his first real happiness – had now become the place of his emotional betrayal.

_Ryou had guessed Bakura didn't mean it_.

"It's okay Bakura," he whispered softly, the hand weakly slipping from Bakura's shoulder almost lifelessly. "I understand… but thank you, anyway. For looking out for me. At least you know how I feel now…" Gentle footsteps padded back toward the kitchen door, and Bakura hesitantly turned round. He almost gasped when he saw Ryou's slumped, dejected figure slinking away, and – with a knot of regret in his stomach – Bakura rushed after him. He didn't know why, or what he was going to say. He just felt so awful for making Ryou feel like that. "Ryou, wait…"

Obediently, Ryou stopped where he was before turning round to face Bakura. The darker boy froze as he saw the tears shimmering in Ryou's eyes. Somehow, the sight stabbed at him deeply. He felt an intense pain in his chest at that moment, one that made him want to cry purely because Ryou nearly was. He had never known a feeling like it. He swallowed a lump that had somehow appeared in his throat, and took another step forward. "Ryou…"

Bakura was amazed at how shaky his voice was. It was almost as if he really _was_ going to cry, purely because Ryou was so upset. He took a deep breath, and tried to speak again. "Ryou…"

The gentle boy's eyes softly overflowed, the tear that rolled from each leaving a silvered trail down each cheek, and he tried to offer some sort of reply. "Bakura… it's okay, really… I'll… I'll be… I'll be fine…"

Ryou turned away from Bakura at his moment as he broke down, his face crumpling as the tears overwhelmed him. Truly, the delicate boy was heartbroken. He stood with the sobs gently shaking his body for a moment, before his legs gave out and he dropped to his knees. A choked cry escaped him, and he whimpered softly. "I'll be fine…"

"Ryou… I'm so sorry… I…"

Ryou vaguely felt Bakura kneel in front of him, a hand on each shoulder, and he shook his head fiercely. "Bakura, really, it's okay," he blurted between sobs. "Don't try to make it better, I'll be fine. You don't have to–"

A small choke made Ryou stop speaking, and he looked up at the object of his love. Even through his own hazy, teary vision, Ryou could see Bakura's eyes were reddened.

He was crying too.

"I didn't mean it then Ryou, but I should have. I was an idiot to just say it without meaning it, without thinking of you…" he whispered, forcibly trying to steady his voice. "But I do now Ryou… I do care for you…"

Ryou looked down again, his sobs suddenly filling with anguish as his tears splashed on the floor. "Bakura, don't… you hurt me enough the first time, you don't have to–"

"I know Ryou, and I'm sorry," Bakura interrupted, softly cupping Ryou's cheek and tilting his head up. "But listen. I _do_ care for you. I mean it now. I want to be with you too… if you'll still have me…"

Ryou slowly forced his tears back, blinking to clear his vision and biting on his lip to stifle the sobs, and he looked up at Bakura. The boy had two tear-trails down his cheeks too, and his puffy eyes were wide and honest, desperate that Ryou should believe him. Slowly, Ryou leaned forward, pressing his lips lightly to Bakura's.

Bakura broke away before the kiss could deepen. "Ryou… I mean it… I'm not taking sympathy on you, and I don't just want to use you like earlier. I really want _you_…"

Ryou's eyes widened at this. He had expected Bakura to just take the kiss… not to react like that. Ryou suddenly understood so much more clearly. Bakura had just shown that his desire for Ryou was more important than his desire for another kiss. Bakura wasn't only interested physically – he cared for Ryou, and _needed_ him to know it. A smile slowly crept onto the gentle boy's features, and he kissed Bakura again, a hand reaching for his shoulder and pulling him in. This time, Bakura responded by returning the kiss, and Ryou dropped into his arms, tingling all over. Through the kiss, Ryou could feel what Bakura really felt. What had been a lustful, demanding kiss was now soft and sweet, a gentle kiss full of caring. The way Bakura's hand came up to Ryou's cheek again, softly wiping the half-dried tears away with his thumb as he stroked the skin, spoke volumes. Bakura truly cared for the boy. Ryou felt a warm sheathe of pure passion descending over the two boys, and he pressed closer to the one he loved, deepening the kiss and melting against him as the tingling amplified.

Softly, Ryou broke away from Bakura. His eyes radiated happiness once again, the pure joy he had felt before, and he couldn't stop smiling as he spoke softly to the white-haired demon. "Yes…" he replied. "I still want you…"

With that, Ryou closed the gap between them once more.

*~*~*~*~*~*

End

*~*~*~*~*~*

Review please! 


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